Manti Pageant

On Thursday June 27, 2013 the kids were able to go to the Manti Pageant. It was tons of fun. We took our blanket, and were able to lie on the hill side and enjoy the pageant. We left Orem WAY too early, and so we stopped in Ephraim for some pizza, and drinks. After we arrived in Manti and placed our blanket in the best spot, we walked around the small city, and looked at the different booths. We got some slushies, cotton candy, and plenty of water to drink. It was nice to be back in Manti, as this was my temple as a youth, and re-kindle some amazing memories. The temple was re-dedicated when I was 8, and I can remember the white handkerchiefs, and touring the temple. Brooklynn and Malia weren’t able to stay awake for the entire show, but they tried their best! A lot has changed with the pageant over the past 20 years, but the feelings and thoughts remained the same. It was a great day!!

The next morning the kids were going to get up early to go swimming.....

So much for that idea!  Jeffrey woke up a little after 9:00 am, Malia and Brooklynn woke up after 10:00 am

Lego Robotics

This fall semester, Jeffrey and Brooklynn signed up for a Lego Robotics League. They meet twice a week to work on team building skills, programming, and inventing. If you're their age, what's not to like? 

Their coaches are fantastic! The kids are excited with what they are learning and come home to work on their programming assignments, do research, and write papers. So far, it's been a great experience for them.

The theme for this year's competition is Helping Seniors. Their 'senior partner', Mr. Giles, has problems getting out of bed and out of chairs. They are working on an invention to help him.

Last Friday the group met at University of Utah to speak with Nancy, a gerontologist. She listened to all of their ideas and gave them some great feedback!

 Jeffrey and Brooklynn happy about their first day of college.

Professor Nancy and their lego buddies

Early Morning Violin Practice

Lake Mountain Fire Update

Here is the latest picture from my neighbors yard. If you look close you can see some flames. Still no evacuation order for our neighborhood, so we're holding tight at home.

I forgot to mention that this is the second fire in the area in 3 weeks. Crazy!

Our Mountain on Fire

Someone was shooting targets on the mountain behind our subdivision yesterday.  Here is the fire they started, and how it looked yesterday (pictures compliments of my neighbor) from behind our house.

Here is how it looks as of 2 hours ago. They are starting voluntary evacuations in our neighborhood and mandatory evacuations in the neighborhood a couple miles north of us. I think we'll stick it out a few hours longer. Mark is at work, and the two oldest have the flu. They don't feel like doing much of anything right now.

Here are 2 more shots from a few streets over.

Moving on up

Jeffrey went shopping this weekend for a new church outfit. He really wanted me to buy him a suit.  I know he won't wear the suit coat for more than 5 minutes in the summer heat. He chose a different outfit, including a REAL grown up tie. He feels like he has matured past the clip-ons. So here you have it, a few pictures of Mark helping him get his first tie knotted snugly around his neck.

A Birthday Favorite